Warped Steel: The Ultimate Twisted Battle
by Coloradoartist
Summary: Okay, this is still in the making. If you could, please at least read the Driver Description page and review who you would like to win. They may just win if you do that. So please, review with who you want to win!!! Thanks. (fourth chapter now up!!)
1. Warped Descriptions

Warped Steel:  
  
1 The Ultimate Twisted Battle  
  
1.1 By Me  
  
A/N: Hey guys, it's me. This is a story that goes off of the video game Twisted Metal 2. Foremost, I do not own the characters, names, or ideas of any of the products of Twisted Metal. These belong to blahde blahde blah…you get the idea. The only things I own are the characters in the story. (Armageddon, Gingerbread, Sasquatch, Angel, Spin Dr., Blaze, Shocker, Admiral, Apocalypse, Damion, Outcast, Sorcerer, Steer, and Trigger) For the beginning of the story, I have the characters that will be mentioned in the story. Next comes the story itself. Please R&R so I know whether or not to continue. I have chosen from a random group on who would win. If you tell me whom you want to win, I may just change my mind. So please Read and Review. Later.  
  
1.2 The Cast of Characters  
  
Armageddon: Real Name: Shane  
  
Car Name: Armageddon  
  
Type of Car: A black Hum-V with fire on the sides and roof  
  
Armor: Four  
  
Handling: Intermediate  
  
Speed: Three  
  
Special Weapon: Five  
  
License Plate: NOTAFREK  
  
Weapon Description: Shane targets an enemy and fires three missiles, one to collide with the target's left, one to destroy the target's right, and one to demolish the roof. From the center fires to detonate on contact with the victim.  
  
Driver Description: Shane is Six foot one, twenty-one with dark, almost black, brown hair shaved close to his head, yet dyed an ice blue. He had green eyes and is very muscular and sometimes has a very bad attitude. This new driver will do anything to win, rules mean nothing to him. You don't want to get in his way when he's driving…  
  
Bio: My name? Armageddon. My real name? Shane. I was an outcast, a loner. Shunned from side to side whenever people came my way. I was told I would never amount to crap, but I did, didn't I!? I have amounted to your worst nightmare, the man who hides in your closet at night. But now I'm here, here for revenge on the "beautiful" people who shirked me my whole life long. You know who you are. I have some advice for you: If you see me, run…run fast.  
  
Gingerbread: Real Name: Jason  
  
Car Name: Gingerbread  
  
Type of Car: A rusted, fissured van with pain peeling and metal rotting. The kind of car a psycho would drive  
  
Armor: Three  
  
Handling: Intermediate  
  
Speed: Three  
  
Special Weapon: Five  
  
License Plate: CANNIBOL  
  
Weapon Description: Out of the rusted holes in Gingerbread's vehicle spikes are shot to home in on the several nearest foes. Once made contact with the target, the enemy has a literally, "shocking" experience.  
  
Driver Description: Gingerbread is the kind of six foot six guy you definitely would not want to meet in a dark alley at midnight. Especially is he's wielding his usual Butcher's knife, axe, or chainsaw. His face is always shrouded in a white hockey mask so no one knows what he really looks like. Stay away from him; he just escaped from the insane asylum and is still dangerous…especially in the arena.  
  
Bio: Run, run, run as fast as you can, you can't hide from me, I'm the GINGERBREAD MAN!!!!!  
  
Sasquatch: Real Name: Joe  
  
Car Name: Sasquatch  
  
Type of Car: An immense monster truck with front loader teeth on the front of the vehicle  
  
Armor: Five  
  
Handling: Very poor  
  
Speed: Two  
  
Special Weapon: Five  
  
License Plate: BIG-FOOT  
  
Weapon Description: Sasquatch will pick you up with his large jaws on the front and hurl you mercilessly behind his immense body. Once you land, three missiles fire from behind him to misshape you into a twisted, burning wreckage.  
  
Driver Description: Sasquatch is an Ex- Scientist, ridiculed and criticized for his theories on Cryptozoology. He was fired and lived on the streets, forced to turn to crime. He is Six foot two with long dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, with blue eyes and a huge temper. Don't mess with him, he does live up to his title in the arena.  
  
Bio: They called me insane, they called me crazy. Well, who's laughing now?!?! I have the power, and you will soon not be walking on Earth!!! I am here for revenge on those who turned my life into a pile of crud, forcing me to beg like a worthless mutt!! Nothing can stand in my way of my path to Calypso, not even the freaks that think they can defeat me!! You will be the one on the pavement during a thunderstorm begging hopelessly for food!! The tables will turn my friend, trust me!!! Ha ha ha!!!!  
  
Angel: Real Name: Rachael  
  
Car Name: Angel  
  
Type of Car: Flaming red convertible  
  
Armor: Three  
  
Handling: Ultra Tight  
  
Speed: Four  
  
Special Weapon: Five  
  
License Plate: SCRW-U  
  
Weapon Description: Out of her hood, a laser fires out diagonally to the left and sweeps to the right, and back to left before returning, slicing anything that lies before it.  
  
Driver Description: Rachael is twenty with beautiful green eyes and luscious strawberry blonde hair. She does not live up to her name in the arena, blowing up anything or one that gets in her way of meeting Calypso. She wants to prove something to others, and has so far succeeded.  
  
Bio: "No," I've always heard. "You can't do that, Rachael. It's a guy thing." I'm here to say damn you all to hell because I can do this. Not only will I drive in Twisted Metal, I'll win too. I want to prove to all that I can do this, I'm more than you think. When I meet Calypso, you are all gonna have an apparition that'll make your head spin, and no one can stop me from getting to him. Not you, not anyone. Look out, because Rachael is gone, and Angel has come to town…  
  
Spin Dr.: Real Name: Josh  
  
Car Name: Spin Doctor  
  
Type of Car: Black luxury car with white retractable hood  
  
Armor: Three  
  
Handling: Tight  
  
Speed: Four  
  
Special Weapon: Three  
  
License Plate: WIGYWIGY  
  
Weapon Description: Out of the hood, bursts a flying, bladed disk spinning rapidly homing in on the nearest target. Once the steel meets the car, well…it's not a pretty picture.  
  
Driver Description: Spin Dr. is a six foot three guy with blonde hair gelled back and blue eyes. His wish is a difficult one, yet he has only entered because he needs a rush, some excitement in his eighteen-year-old life. He gets a whole hell of a lot more than he planned though…  
  
Bio: I'm bored, I need something exciting, an adrenaline rush…and Twisted Metal is just the thing, and besides- I get anything I want at the end when I win. I mean, how hard can it be? All I have to do is blow some people and cars sky-high while reducing the world to burning chaos. What could possibly go wrong? When I win, Calypso is going down and I am coming up. The world will have a new leader. Me. Josh, the Spin Doctor…  
  
Blaze: Real Name: Ben  
  
Car Name: Blaze  
  
Type of Car: A Callaway C-12 loaded with NOS  
  
Armor: Three  
  
Handling: Tight  
  
Speed: Five  
  
Special Weapon: Three  
  
License Plate: INEDUBAC  
  
Weapon Description: Blaze fires a raging fireball from his car and it homes in on the nearest vehicle. As soon as it makes contact, not only does it explode, it puts new meaning to the phrase, "Crash and Burn"  
  
Driver Description: Blaze is twenty-six and six foot four with black almost veiling his brown eyes in the front. He has suffered from guilt and pain for a year now, and has entered again to relive that grief. Absolutely nothing can stop him on his quest.  
  
Bio: She's gone, torn away from me and my heart. Last year; my wife, my everything, entered in the Twisted Metal contest for her family. I begged her not to, pleaded with her not to go, yet she did…and she died. I'm here to get her back. When I meet up with Calypso, I want her soul back, I wan her to walk to Earth once more. If Calypso screws this up, I have a little present in store for that sick, twisted freak.  
  
Trigger: Real Name: Seth  
  
Car Name: Trigger  
  
Type of Car: Army Tank  
  
Armor: Five  
  
Handling: Tight  
  
Speed: Two  
  
Special Weapon: Three  
  
License Plate: BEAFRAID  
  
Weapon Description: From the turret, Seth fires a blast with extreme homing capabilities, but doesn't cause much damage. This weapon does send the enemy struck my it careening into the air, a perfect weapon for rooftops or cliffs.  
  
Driver Description: Trigger is twenty-one with light blonde hair in a long bowl cut and blue eyes. His heart was torn from his chest and he's here for revenge on the ones who did it, because they put him through the agony and sorrow. When he meets Calypso, he's going to have to work overtime to fulfill Trigger's wish.  
  
Bio: I have fought on the streets for respect, honor, dignity, and a little peace and quiet, and received none. Three months ago exactly, a gang burst into my house and stole everything I had, including my mother and baby sister. I'm here for revenge on those twisted, sick freaks that left me alone, bruised, and shot as they stole the only thing important to me…my family. They will be sorry and will pay because they crossed me…Trigger.  
  
Shocker: Real Name: Steve  
  
Car Name: Shocker  
  
Type of Car: Black Plymouth Prowler with lightning bolts on the side  
  
Armor: Three  
  
Handling: Interminable  
  
Speed: Four  
  
Special Weapon: Five  
  
License Plate: SHOKING  
  
Weapon Description: From underneath the hood bursts a bolt of lightning, surrounding the nearest car. Not only does this surging bolt surround the car in an electrifying sphere, it picks it up in the air and slams it violently into the ground while destroying anything the electricity makes contact with.  
  
Driver Description: Shocker is six foot six with brown spiked hair and bleached tips and brown eyes. He wants to have a question answered, and that is the only reason he joined. He needs the puzzle piece that will make sense of his screwed lifestyle. The puzzle piece for his Past, Present, and Future.  
  
Bio: I never met my parents, I was sold to an orphanage in Philly. They put me their for money so they could eat and have clothes on their backs. I cannot remember them. The ruler of the orphanage told me they had terrible trouble leaving me, and I want to see them. To meet my mother, to greet my father. Nothing can stop me from meeting my parents, the only thing I have wanted my whole life. We can be a family again, once more, no longer an orphan on the streets, begging for food. I will be normal.  
  
Admiral: Real Name: Taylor  
  
Car Name: Admiral  
  
Type of Car: A camo jeep with ten wheels, (four left back, four right back, two front)  
  
Armor: Four  
  
Handling: Intermediate  
  
Speed: Four  
  
Special Weapon: Two  
  
License Plate: VETERAN  
  
Weapon Description: From devices on his dashboard, a smokescreen floats out innocently to shroud the enemy vehicle, blinding it completely and making it vulnerable to any attack. Taylor usually takes advantage of this situation…  
  
Driver Description: Admiral is a retired soldier, haunted by the reminisces of wars. They haunt him completely, inside his head. At eighty-three, He stands at six three with very short brown hair and light brown eyes. He is tormented by wars long over, yet still being fought in his mind, and he wants them gone. If he wins, Calypso will have to succeed in this task.  
  
Bio: What? Who's there? Who are you? They call out to me, their bloody hands reaching out for me. They appear before my eyes at night, haunting me. The eerie silence of the dead and the agonizing screams of the wounded. Shells bursting inches in front of me. I want them gone. I will only have to fight one more war, Twisted Metal, before I'm free of them. You must help me. Please!!!  
  
Outcast: Real Name: Jonathon  
  
Car Name: Outcast  
  
Type of Car: Motorcycle  
  
Armor: One  
  
Handling: Ultra Tight  
  
Speed: Five  
  
Special Weapon: Four  
  
License Plate: F_U_BTCH  
  
Weapon Description: Outcast will take a specially designed grenade and hurl it into the air, as soon as it collides with the pavement it detonates, destroying anything within fifteen feet all directions. If he uses his turbo while using his weapon, he may just fall victim to his own hellish contraption.  
  
Driver Description: Jonathon is twenty-five with very short blonde hair with steely blue eyes and stands at five-eight. He has been teased and ridiculed his whole life, and it is now time to rebuke. Don't meet up with him when he's raging about this or heads will roll…literally.  
  
Bio: Humans. Who needs 'em? Bastards, that's what they are. A bunch of self- deserving bastards. That's why if I win they're all going. Either heaven or hell, their decision, but I'm helping along the end of the world by entering this. If I win, you can kiss humanity good-bye. In between that time, it's gonna be hell on earth for them.  
  
Sorcerer: Real Name: Mary and Rebecca  
  
Car Name: Sorcerer  
  
Type of Car: Street Car, fast…really fast  
  
Armor: Three  
  
Handling: Tight  
  
Speed: Five  
  
Special Weapon: Five  
  
License Plate: ALAKAZAM  
  
Weapon Description: From the roof, a grappling hook fires out and latches deeply into the car's interior. The hook then picks up the car and slams it down violently in the opposite direction. If the car comes unhooked in the middle of the procedure, it goes soaring.  
  
Driver Description: Mary is twenty-three with long, dark brown hair and brown eyes. Becca is Five-Eleven with short blonde hair and glasses in front of blue eyes. They have banded together into one car to try to demolish all the competitors. They need to get to Calypso, the reason? Unrevealed.  
  
Bio: We have planned this for years, making precise calculations and working nonstop. We are finally ready. We need that wish, we need it. Why? We can't tell you that now, but you will find out later. We just need to win, and we'll do anything it takes to get there…  
  
Minotaur: Real Name: Michael  
  
Car Name: Minotaur  
  
Type of Car: A black jaguar with immense razor spikes on the front bumper  
  
Armor: Three  
  
Handling: Ultra Tight  
  
Speed: Five  
  
Special Weapon: Four  
  
License Plate: BULLMAN  
  
Weapon Description: Minotaur suddenly puts on a turbo that almost makes his tires leave the pavement, and he collides with the nearest car. The problem is, if that car moves, he misses and that's the end.  
  
Driver Description: Minotaur stands at Five- five with very light brown hair cut short and blue eyes at Twenty-seven. He was torn away from his family and friends and now wants revenge…  
  
Bio: I had to leave them, I had no choice. They took me and forced me to work. I couldn't do anything about it. But now I can do something, I can finally enter Twisted Metal now that my car is done and I can fight tooth and nail to get back. If I meet Calypso, I'm demanding him to bring me back to me family and friends. I want to see them, just once more…  
  
Steer: Real Name: Bryant  
  
Car Name: Steer  
  
Type of Car: Dark blue sting ray  
  
Armor: Three  
  
Handling: Tight  
  
Speed: Four  
  
Special Weapon: Five  
  
License Plate: UGOBOOM  
  
Weapon Description: From the center of the car, a sphere expands in all directions, destroying anything within a ten- foot radius. If you get hit, you go boom…  
  
Driver Description: Steer is twenty-seven with dark brown/black hair in a spike cut and a bad attitude. He is disgruntled with a huge temper that'll break everything and anything in sight…including rules and backbones….  
  
Bio: Now they see you, now they don't. I have nothing left so I'm stationed here, and you'll be the ones to pay. Get off the road, freak! Steer is here…  
  
Quick A/N: Okay, these guys (Damion and Apocalypse) are not competitors but the Half Boss and Mega Boss, these guys need not be chosen for the winner. Okay, sorry I interrupted. Read on…  
  
Damion: Real Name: Unknown  
  
Car Name: Damion  
  
Type of Car: Black Hellhound  
  
Armor: Five  
  
Handling: Tight  
  
Speed: Four  
  
Special Weapon: Five  
  
License Plate: URMYMEAT  
  
Weapon Description: Damion starts to spin rapidly and fireballs starts to blast violently in all directions, it's almost unavoidable to be hit. And when you are hit, damage is caused…lots of it.  
  
Driver Description: Unknown  
  
Bio: I feed off of humans, their lives and souls. I need more. They don't die fast enough! When I defeat you, you're all gonna die and I'm gonna feast! HA HA!!!!  
  
Apocalypse: Real Name: ?????  
  
Car Name: Apocalypse  
  
Type of Car: Semi  
  
Armor: ?????  
  
Handling: ?????  
  
Speed: ?????  
  
Special Weapon: ?????  
  
License Plate: URDEAD  
  
Weapon Description: ?????  
  
Driver Description: No one has ever confronted Apocalypse and lived to tell about it. That's why no one knows anything about him.  
  
Bio: Guess who's heeere….. Whatever you do, don't look under the beeeedd….. I seeeeee yooouuuu…. 


	2. Warped Steel Dawns

"I'm bored." Calypso whined from his blimp floating high above the twisted, burning wreckage of the once thriving city.  
  
Twisted Metal, a tournament fostered from the cruel mind of Calypso, had destroyed the city. Calypso was a middle-aged man and had long, flowing red hair with piercing eyes and a face, burnt, charred, and scratched. He ruled the world with an iron fist.  
  
Twisted Metal? Twisted Metal is the most terrible tournament created, in which an amount of drivers battle against each other with their own vehicles of destruction. Weapons are provided for the players, but each one develops their own deadly special weapon to inflict awesome damage on the enemy. All of the drivers battle it out in separate arenas, to the death. In the end, only one victor remains. This conqueror is able to confront Calypso for the ultimate prize, anything their hearts desire. But Calypso's mind works in sickly ways, and he twists and shapes their words to make their life a living hell.  
  
The world is ruined and plunged into chaos as survivors struggle to stay alive and keep blood in their veins instead of splattered on the street during this twisted tournament…  
  
"I'm bored." He whined again, spinning slowly in his chair, his fingers twiddling absentmindedly with the small clown doll in his hands. "Twisted Metal has struck and all-time low, no one wants to compete."  
  
"Oh, I'm sure they will." His advisor, Sweet Tooth reassured him. Sweet Tooth was a human on the brink of insanity. He was a clown, an anomalous one at that. His literally flaming hair and red nose placed on his white, painted face- blue makeup on his eyebrows and eyelids, drool always dribbling out of his fanged mouth. At this moment, Sweet Tooth was gnawing on a raw steak, which was still bleeding heavily upon the carpeted floor. "You just need a gimmick." He advised between mouthfuls of bloody steak. "A ploy to get people to compete."  
  
"No, they are all afraid that if they enter, they'll die." Calypso answered thoughtfully. He wrenched off the doll clown's head with a small pop and held it deftly between his two fingers, looking at it thoughtfully. "And if by some amazing stroke of luck, they win." He popped the clown head in his mouth and began to crunch it. Sweet Tooth looked sick at this fact. "That if they win, I will screw up their wish."  
  
"But," Sweet Tooth gulped down a portion of red steak, the blood dribbling from his daggered mouth. He ripped off another piece and began to chew. "You will won't you? You will screw up the wish, won't you?"  
  
Calypso grinned maliciously. "Why Sweet Tooth my friend, that's half the fun."  
  
Sweet Tooth chuckled in a hollow tone. Suddenly, Calypso stood up so quickly that Sweet Tooth choked on a scrap of bleeding meat.  
  
"What?" Sweet Tooth gasped, the portion of meat still caught in his esophagus, with a loud splash, was coughed; drenched in saliva, back into his palm. Hundreds of colossal, squirming maggots were writhing from inside the meat, crawling and squirming disgustingly over his hand. Sweet Tooth pulled back his cracked lips into an insane smile, revealing rows of razor- sharp teeth.  
  
"Ooh, my favorite." He growled. He tossed the steak, now dripping heavily with saliva back into his mouth and soon began to pick the maggots up from off the chair and himself, crunching them in his mouth happily.  
  
"So," Sweet Tooth asked, forcing another writhing maggot down his throat. "Why did you stand up so quickly?"  
  
"I have had an apparition, an idea." Calypso whispered dramatically, his lengthy, dirt-caked fingernails scratching thoughtfully along his butchered, charred face. "An idea, for Twisted Metal. To get people to compete yet again, and plunge the Earth once more into an eternal hell."  
  
Sweet Tooth deftly plucked up an extremely immense maggot from the upholstery, a trail of slime remaining behind it. The clown popped the writhing worm in his mouth; half of it dribbling down his front. He burped loudly, pieces of white worm flying out of his bloody mouth, squirming as soon as they hit the ground. "And just how is that?" He asked, crunching worms beneath his feet, staining the carpet with green ooze from the maggot.  
  
"What?" Calypso asked half-mindedly, staring blankly out into the flaming wreckage outside of the blimp's window. "The idea?"  
  
"Yes." Sweet Tooth stood up and walked over to stand next to Calypso, crunching several maggots along the way. "What's your idea?" He reached Calypso and reached for another of the white squirming worms, a trail of ooze receding behind it as it crawled along the glass.  
  
"Oh," Calypso answered with a hollow chuckle, not even glancing at his friend, who was now busily crunching the worm, which was still obviously struggling to escape in his mouth. "You will find out. You will definitely find out. Please excuse me." With this he turned his back and began to walk toward a door on the side of the blimp, still drifting lazily miles above the flaming, misshaped wreckage of a city.  
  
Calypso reached the door and wrapped his long, snakelike fingers around a silver handle. With a click, the door swung open, whipping his lengthy, filth-filled red hair behind him. Calypso spread his arms wide and simply fell out of the blimp, his long trench coat flowing like an eerie cape behind him.  
  
"God dammit!" Sweet Tooth yelled, throwing a maggot the size of his finger into the glass, the worm bursting into thousands of gooey bits splattered across the window. "I hate it when that son of a bitch does that!" He screamed dementedly, slamming his fists on the pane.  
  
Calypso landed on top of a used to be building, the burnt, charred wreckage slightly crumbling beneath his feet as his feet connected with the steel, the ring lingering in the bloody air. He smiled maliciously, his rows of yellow, decayed teeth revealed.  
  
"Warped Steel. It will be the ultimate Twisted Metal Collision!" He yelled demonically, raising his hands high up in the air. Lightning struck down violently behind him, engulfing him into an eerie silhouette. "You will compete now, after I devise my plan." He whispered, a maniac glint within his eyes. "You will compete." He ended this in a piercing, demented laugh that echoed and reverberated creepily off of the steel wreckage.  
  
A man glanced up from his spot on the ground, the tweed blanket sliding off his back; sweat trickling down his unshaven face. "No," He whispered, his voice shaking with fear as he let a bottle slip out of his hand and shatter on the floor. "No, not again." He stood up shakily, and staggered toward Calypso, yards above him. "Calypso!" He yelled up to the man on the structure, shaking his fist in anger.  
  
Calypso looked down at the man, a small dot from his perch atop the building. "Calypso! You can't have another tournament! You can't! You-" He ended falling to the ground, a small hole in his chest. Calypso pocketed the pistol and looked back to the sky.  
  
"Oh yes I can, and this time- it will be greater than ever before!" He laughed evilly as rain began to pound down, soaking the ruins. Lightning pierced the air and thunder struck through, rattling the steel.  
  
Calypso lowered his head to a normal height, rain trickling down his slashed face. He grinned maliciously. His eyes looked as if the were ignited on fire and his evil grin broadened. "Welcome," He whispered in his deep, scratchy voice. "To Twisted Metal…" 


	3. The Beginning of the End

The plane touched down through the muggy Denver air. The afterburners switched off as the plane wheeled to a stop. It turned onto the long runway, the wheels gradually slowing down.  
  
Inside of the plane, Calypso sipped his fruit drink as Sweet Tooth gnawed down upon his chicken drumstick. Sweet Tooth chomped down and immediately spit the contents all over the chair in front of him. Sweet Tooth wiped his mouth and threw the drumstick to the ground angrily.  
  
"Damn, I hate airplane food." He grumbled in a disgusted tone. "You can barely taste the salmonella."  
  
The airplane rolled to a stop at the terminal, and people began to scramble to escape from the plane. Some looking stressed and frustrated, others just seemed nauseous. They had arrived in Denver, one of the few cities not reduced to ruin by the Twisted Metal contest.  
  
Calypso stepped out of the plane, Sweet Tooth following him. "What do we do now, Calypso?" Sweet Tooth asked turning to face him.  
  
He grinned maliciously. "We announce the contest. Twisted Metal will reign again." He stepped forward; walking toward the baggage, people parting I his way, mostly with feared looks at Sweet Tooth. Suddenly, Sweet Tooth snapped at a lady's face, his jagged teeth inches from her flesh. He chuckled in a hollow tone as the woman emitted a quick, short, loud scream.  
  
They reached the baggage and without even looking down, Calypso grabbed his luggage as it rolled by. He left the airport by the swinging doors, stepping outside into the polluted atmosphere.  
  
Calypso snapped his fingers and a taxi roared up, waiting for him to climb in. Popping the trunk, Calypso placed his baggage into the car and, after slamming the trunk down, slid into the taxi. Sweet Tooth slipped in after him, closing the car door. The driver gave a frightened look at the clown, his hair blazing.  
  
"What are you looking at, freak?" Sweet Tooth snapped, noticing his gaze.  
  
"Nothing! Nothing!" The driver stammered hastily, punching down on the gas. With a jolt, the car sped off- out of the parking lot.  
  
"Where you head to?" A man with a strong accent asked in the front seat.  
  
"Oh, the nearest television recording studio, if you please." Calypso answered innocently from behind him.  
  
The car continued on for five minutes, the wheels rolling on the pavement. Ahead there loomed a figure, a long line, a…  
  
"Traffic jam." The driver grumbled angrily, slowing to a stop.  
  
Calypso frowned.  
  
"We're not going to get anywhere like this." He thought to himself. Cautiously, he reached into a pocket of his trench coat. He pulled out an object, about as big as his hand…a grenade. Calypso brought the bomb up to his teeth and wrenched out the pin. He jammed open the car door and stepped outside.  
  
"What you doing? What you doing? Get back in car!" The driver ordered angrily, spotting Calypso. He paid no attention though, but lobbed the grenade high in the air. What came next needs not to be explained. The news was there in ten minutes and the taxi was gone, no eyewitnesses. The press called it "the work of a madman", and indeed it was…  
  
  
  
"No, we do not owe you any more money!" Calypso growled furiously at the driver as they stood, parked outside of the television recording studio.  
  
"Yes! Yes!" The man shouted, shaking the bills in Calypso's butchered face. "You owe me fifty dollar! You get out of car, you pay money!" Calypso rolled his eyes and began to walk into the recording studio. Suddenly, a bullet grazed by his ear, tearing into the wall of the building! The driver had tried to shoot him!  
  
"Damn you!" Calypso yelled, swirling around. "Don't you ever give up?" He turned around and continued to walk, hearing the cock of a gun. He snapped his fingers. "Sweet Tooth?" He asked, not turning to look at his advisor. "Take care of him." Sweet Tooth smiled deviously. "My pleasure." He answered, reaching inside of his shirt.  
  
The driver turned to him, a pistol clutched in his hand. The hand was shaking now that he realized he was facing Sweet Tooth.  
  
"You…you owe me fifty dollar…freaky!" The man's accent spat, as he shoved his hand forward- expecting pay.  
  
Sweet Tooth sighed heavily as out of his shirt, he pulled a machine gun. He held it up and cocked the gun, a small click following. He lowered it. Smiling, he growled, "Eat lead you bastard." The unmistakable ring of a machine gun pierced the air as the men fell through the open window, holes riddled in him. Sweet Tooth walked past him, heading toward the studio; at the last minute, he shoved the limp form into the upholstered seat.  
  
Sweet Tooth kept the gun visible, in case any more problems emerged, and walked into the recording studio. Looking around, he saw Calypso at a desk- chatting with the receptionist.  
  
Sweet Tooth walked over to the seat and put away his M16, but pulling out an Uzi a second later. Sweet Tooth flipped up the top and began to load the gun with bullets as he waited for Calypso to come sit down. About five minutes later, Sweet Tooth pocketed the bullets and lowered the Uzi's lid. He cocked the gun as Calypso sat down in the seat next to him.  
  
"We have to wait." He growled. "Someone else has to do a commercial before us."  
  
He grabbed a magazine and began to scan through it as Sweet Tooth began to load a second Uzi. They waited, until a receptionist walked out smiling. "Mr. Calypso? May you come here?" Calypso stood up, placing the magazine on the seat and walked toward her. Sweet Tooth followed, he stood up, twirled the Uzis rapidly and pocketed them.  
  
He strided over to meet Calypso in time to catch the phrase, "You may now come behind, this man only has a half of an hour left to record."  
  
"This will be your studio." He receptionist smiled, placing her hand on a large door.  
  
She swung the door open and instantly, they saw a scene before them. A man talking about…toothpaste! This was the commercial they had to wait so long for! Toothpaste! Calypso brought his eyes to slits and mumbled something Sweet Tooth could not hear, but knew was full of swears and curses.  
  
"This is bull shit!" Calypso yelled, bursting onto the set in the middle of the commercial and knocking the camera to the floor. "I wait to make a commercial for Twisted Metal, and this bastard is talking about toothpaste! You will record me," He ranted on, turning to see everyone again. "This is important! This isn't crap like toothpaste! This is Twisted Metal, you freaks!"  
  
He ended this and grabbed hold of the toothpaste man's collar. He lifted the man up in the air as he floundered and struggled helplessly, his feet dangling above the ground. Carelessly, Calypso threw the man behind him and he soared through the air, landing head first into the wall and slumping unconscious to the ground.  
  
Everyone stared at Calypso, petrified.  
  
A voice broke the silence. "You, you can't just walk in here and-" someone began. Sweet Tooth plunged his hand into his pocket and whipped out the Uzi. He squeezed the trigger and bullets immediately ripped through the ceiling ahead.  
  
"You were saying?" He growled, drool slipping out of his mouth.  
  
"Nothing." The person squeaked, looking terrified.  
  
"Now," A voice stuttered, turning toward Calypso. It was the cameraman. "What was it y-you said you wer-were recording?"  
  
"Twisted Metal. A plow to get people to compete once more." The cameraman fell off and scrambled to his feet, breathing heavily.  
  
"T-t-t-twisted me-me-metal? H-h-here?"  
  
Calypso frowned impatiently. "No, not here you lame fag." He snapped, brushing long, red hair away from his face. "I have my own arenas, this time. No one will die…" He promised and everyone around the room looked immensely grateful. "Yet." He ended in a whisper, an insane flash in his piercing eyes.  
  
  
  
"HOLY SHIT!" A voice yelled from across the room. Josh craned his neck to look at his friend, Craig, who was staring at the TV screen.  
  
"What's up?" Josh called, pouring some potato chips into a bowl.  
  
"Come here." Craig told him, beckoning him closer with his hand, still staring blankly at the screen.  
  
Josh jogged over; a bowl of potato chips in his hand. He arrived in time to hear a scratchy voice cackle, "Yes, you heard correctly- Twisted Metal is back! With custom arenas, new weapons, and new drivers!" It was Calypso. He was on the screen, lightning flashing behind him. "To sign up," He continued- Josh now listening intently. "You must first log onto TwistedMetalContest.net and sign in- if there are too many signers, auditions will be casted. Have fun! And remember- you must provide your own vehicle…"  
  
He faded off and Craig switched off the TV and looked forward at the black screen. "Damn, that bastard really is insane." He mumbled. "Here we are, one of the last remaining cities on the globe, and he decides to have another Twisted Metal. He's a freak!" He looked at his friend. "I wouldn't enter would- aw, crap." He saw Josh's face- rigid with an insane smile. The bowl of chips had dropped out of his hand and spilled upon the floor.  
  
"No," Craig whispered. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no!" He told him, standing up as if to block his path.  
  
"Yes." Josh whispered. "Oh, yes."  
  
  
  
Jason looked up through the holes in his mask, his arms pinned tightly to his side by the straitjacket wrapped around him. On the ceiling, a TV was hooked, a commercial on it- advertising.  
  
What? Twisted Metal. Yes, that was it, Twisted Metal. Fun. What? Who's there? A light rapping was coming from the door of his padded room.  
  
"Who?" He managed to mumble.  
  
The door swung open and Jason lolled his head lazily to the side, glancing the being that had entered his room.  
  
A nurse, carrying trays of what- medicine? No! Poison! They are trying to kill me!  
  
"You're medicine, Mr. Jason." The nurse told him politely, handing out a little plastic cup, filled to the brim with pills and capsules.  
  
No! Not medicine! Poison!  
  
Jason suddenly gave a yell and stood up, struggling to free his arms desperately from his coat that bound him.  
  
Axe! Where is my axe! Chainsaw! It's gone! They stole it! All gone! Stolen! No!!  
  
The nurse shrieked and stumbled back, knocking over the medicine tray, pills scattering over the padded floor! Jason continued to yell, the fabric of his straitjacket starting to rip from the strain!  
  
Escape! Must get out! Need axe! No, medicine! Not medicine, poison! Must get out! Must get out!  
  
The nurse scrambled to her feet and began to bolt out of the door, slamming it loudly behind her!  
  
Gone. Safe no… No! Not safe! Ploy! They come back! More of them! Poison! No weapons! Must get out! No!!  
  
With an immense rip, the straitjacket burst open! White threads shredding loudly!  
  
Free! I'm free! But, must escape. How?  
  
Jason's head darted around as he looked desperately through the holes in his hockey mask, urgently scanning for a place to escape.  
  
Window! I can escape there! How? They stole my axe. Gone! Stolen! Must take weapons back! Need knife! Need weapons!  
  
Jason whirled around, facing the padded door. WHAM! His foot slammed through the door, wood splintering in all directions! He stepped out, nurses and doctors in the middle of walking down the hall stood frozen, aghast.  
  
Axe? Where axe? Need axe!  
  
Jason ran down the hall, panting heavily.  
  
"After him! Get him! He's a danger to us all! Stop him!!!" A voice called out from behind.  
  
Jason glanced around frantically. Wooden doors blurring past.  
  
Door! I remember a door! Which door! There's too many! I must get weapons! Need chainsaw! Need knife! Where are they?!?!  
  
He slid to a stop, a faint pitter of feet chasing after him. A golden sign hung on the door. "Possessions." It read.  
  
Here. Weapon here. How to get in? Jason looked around hysterically. Axe! I can chop it down! No, axe gone. Stolen! Knife! Gone. Hands! Here!  
  
WHAM! Jason slammed his fist through the door, splinters flying in all directions as his knuckles punched through the wood.  
  
"Hey! Stop!" A voice yelled urgently.  
  
No! Must get weapon!  
  
Jason ripped the remnants of the door down and stepped in, a vast closet filled with the belongings of patients at the insane asylum.  
  
Axe! Here! Knife! Here! Chainsaw!  
  
He saw blades glint in the new light, far back in the closet.  
  
Mine!  
  
Jason scrambled over various belongings, jewelry, cutlery knives, drugs. His hands finally wrapped around the cold handle of the butcher knife blade. He grabbed the axe and slung it over his back, the weapon secured by the torn straitjacket. Lastly, he grabbed the chainsaw and revved it up, the motor howling through the insane hospital.  
  
The men chasing him arrived in time to see a gigantic hole in the wall, and a dark figure running, receding into the moonlight.  
  
Run, run, run as fast as you can…you can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man...  
  
  
  
The limo slid smoothly down the asphalt, Calypso lounged comfortably in the back seat.  
  
"Oh, Sweet Tooth?" He called up to the front seat.  
  
"Yes?" He grunted in reply.  
  
"Switch on the television please, I want to see my commercial."  
  
Sweet Tooth obeyed the command and instantly, an image zapped onto the screen.  
  
"Damn it. Oh, well- turn if off please."  
  
"Hey, Calypso?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Do you think anyone will enter, I mean- how is this different form all the other Twisted Metal tournaments.  
  
Calypso sighed. "Why Sweet Tooth, my friend. This is Warped Steel, the Ultimate Twisted Metal. No one can resist. The world will be plunged yet again into chaos. This is, Twisted Metal…" 


	4. Warped Steel Begins to Awake

"Done!" A voice cried out and echoed off the stone garage walls. Shane placed down the oil-doused wrench and picket up a white cloth, beginning to wipe off the grease that covered his raw, bleeding hands.  
  
He stepped back to admire his artwork. It was a Hum-V, black with realistic flames painted on the side, the odor of drying coat still lingering in the night air. Underneath the front bumper, there were numerous missiles, concealed and ready for firing. On either side of the vehicle, there was mounted a large gatling gun that were as strong and tough as they looked. The traction wheels covered the silver hubcaps that glinted in the dim light. It was a machine of destruction.  
  
Shane smiled at what his skill had created as it stood, parked innocently. He walked over to the driver's seat and placed his hands on the latch. With a soft click, the door swung open and he soon slid into the leather interior. Shane cracked his knuckles and wrapped his sore, worked fingers over the steering wheel. He glanced down at a small, silver switch he had embedded in the dashboard. With a malicious grin, he flipped the switch and instantly the roar of guns ripped through the silent night air!  
  
The tree across the street from Shane was ripped to bits, the bullets tearing into the bark. Shane flipped off the switch and the gatling guns rotated to a small stop; smoke emitting slowly from the calibers. Shane whipped open the door and bolted out of the car. He jogged across the street to where the tree once stood. Shards of wood and bark littered the ground various bullets found partway through debris of the tree.  
  
Shane smirked and he bent down, picking up a strip of wood. He stood up and crushed it easily, his large biceps straining on the cotton of his white t-shirt. He walked slowly across the street and stood proudly, arms folded before his car.  
  
"Armageddon." He suddenly said aloud. "That's what I'll call you. Armageddon." Shane then walked to the door that led into his apartment and switched off the light. "Look out Calypso," He whispered dramatically, turning his muscular back to the car. "Twisted Metal has a new victor."  
  
He strided into the apartment, giving no thought to the faint glow from behind his car. It was fire, a head of fire…literally. Two red eyes pierced through the pitch-black darkness. The light glinted faintly off of razor fangs as dry lips were stretched back into an insane grin. It was Sweet Tooth. Sweet Tooth stood up, and slipped out of the open garage door as silent as a shadow. He look to his left, a rusted, ruined ice cream truck barely in view. He grinned again, his face flowing with malice. The faint jingle of an ice cream truck faded into the night followed by an insane howl of laughter as he drove it further into the distance….  
  
  
  
Aaron Speech rushed down the street, clutching dearly to his hat and coat, a jug of milk tucked securely under his arm. Rain hammered down as he began to pick up the pace, frantically- his head darted every which way, losing his sense of direction due to the immense deal of fear in his fifty- two year old heart. A broadcast rang in his ears as his feet carried him down the pavement.  
  
IHe is armed and dangerous. Just from an insane asylum nearby the man who calls himself U Gingerbread /U is on the loose. If you see him, get away as fast as possible and call this number. He stands over six feet with lengthy, black, braided hair protruding from the top of his white hockey mask. Remember his is armed and extremely dangerous…/I  
  
It played over and over in his head as if on a broken record player. He snapped out of his trance from listening intently to the broadcast in his subconscious, just to find where his feet had taken him while he was dazing. He found himself facing a brick wall at the end of a dark alley. Crap. A dead-end.  
  
Suddenly, a whoosh came from over above, and Aaron's old head snapped up in time to see a black trench coat disappear over the ledge of the building to his right. The sweat trickled down his forehead and was indistinguishable with the rain streaming down his aged face. His eyes darted around furiously, trying to spot what had made the noise.  
  
He decided to make a dash for it! He ran, his feet pounding and splashing through the puddles on the cold cement! Suddenly, an immense crash boomed in front of him and he slid to a stop, water spraying into the air!  
  
Lightning streaked through the black sky, creating an extremely eerie silhouette standing directly before him. A black body-length trench coat, long braided hair hanging in front of the silhouette's face, which had no distinguishable, features at all. Slung over his shoulder was a chainsaw, rain flowing down the steel blade. Hitched in the character's belt was a bloody butcher knife, slowly dripping fluids of water from the downpour. With another crack of lightning, Aaron dropped the milk jug to the floor with a gasp. The face was completely veiled in a hockey mask, holes for eyes with and odd, piercing red gaze glaring at him. An axe was clutched in his gloved hand, the double blade glinting dangerously in the rapid streak of light. It was the escaped man from the insane asylum!  
  
"No! NO!" Aaron screamed fearfully, backing slowly away. His back touched the drenched brick wall behind him, he was trapped like a rat.  
  
The figure tilted his shrouded head and looked curious at the figure struggling to escape.  
  
"Do you know," he asked softly, his unnatural voice barely audible. "What the best part of a storm is?"  
  
Aaron gave no answer, and desperately attempted to move farther back, the brick wall holding him forward. "Get away from me you, psycho!" He screamed in terror.  
  
The figure began to slowly advance, giving his axe a twirl. He stopped, feet from the old man.  
  
"No one can hear you scream." With this, the axe was raised high above his head and lightning cracked through the sky, the blade shining in the light. The axe swished violently down, a scream echoed through the downpour of the pitch-black night, and Gingerbread has his next meal…  
  
…A bloodcurdling scream reached Sweet Tooth's ears and he jammed his ice cream truck in reverse. Within a few minutes, rain pouring down the hood of his rusted truck, he had reached a dark, secluded alley. Sweet Tooth stepped out of the car, the rain not dousing his head of flame a bit.  
  
Suddenly, a figure erupted from the darkness!  
  
"Stop!" Sweet Tooth yelled, stepping forward.  
  
A white face turned to face him, the mouth portion of the mask now dripping with blood…human blood.  
  
Sweet Tooth pulled back his dry lips over his rotted fangs into an insane smile. He stepped forward, a crazy glint in his eyes.  
  
"I like your style, ehh…um?" Sweet Tooth broke off, querying the figure for his name.  
  
Quick as a flash, the character had rushed toward Sweet Tooth and had the butcher knife placed deadly on the tip of his throat. As soon as the blade had touched Sweet Tooth, Jason felt the cold tip of an Uzi pushed into his abdomen. He could tell the finger was pulled tightly over the trigger.  
  
A hollow laugh was emitted from the depths within the hockey mask. "You're fast." He sheathed the knife within his belt. "I'm Gingerbread, and don't forget it."  
  
Sweet Tooth un-cocked the gun, gave it several twirls around his finger and pocketed it. He stuck out his hand; the four-inch-long fingernails caked with dirt.  
  
"Sweet Tooth. Say, have you ever heard of Twisted Metal?" He asked, in a friendly yet still untrusting tone.  
  
"Yes. It looks like," the figure gave a twitch of his neck as if he was having trouble speaking. "…fun." He ended.  
  
Sweet Tooth chuckled eerily. "Yes, tremendous fun. You should compete. We, er, need some excitement."  
  
Jason's hand came up and wiped blood off of his hockey mask. "Compete. Yes. Car. Like…yours?"  
  
Sweet Tooth grinned maliciously revealing rows of yellow teeth behind dry, chapped lips. "Good…very good…."  
  
  
  
Rachael sat straight up in bed, cold sweat sticking to her arms and face, the sheets clinging to her skin. He pulled the sheet off and climbed out of her bed, her strawberry blonde hair sticking to her forehead. He nightgown touched the bottom of her feet as she walked into the bathroom. She flipped a switch and blinked in the newly found light. Dark rings were covered the bottom of her eyes, she hadn't gotten any sleep for days. The same dream awakening her, and spooking her enough to make her stay awake. But this time, she had a plan.  
  
Walking back to her room, she got changed, a pair of jeans and a shirt with a black hooded jacket, her red hair pulled back into a ponytail. She walked yanked open a dresser drawer, after pushing aside various books and batteries, she found a semi-automatic pistol, fully loaded. She gave it a spin and pocketed it. Next, she grabbed some makeup, not that she needed any, and put it on her face.  
  
Moonlight shone in through her window, and if that was not there, you would think it was noon by the way she was dressed. Rachael opened her door and it creaked on its rusty hinges.  
  
She started down the stairs and contemplated on her dream. She had lost Twisted Metal and stood before Calypso, begging her wish be granted. Calypso grinned maliciously and pointed a gun at her forehead. Three shots rang out, but before they made contact- she was awake. She couldn't lose, there's no room for failure.  
  
She reached the garage door and opened it slowly, flipping a switch as soon as she could slide her hand along the wall through the minute crack in the door. The concrete room was flooded with light as she opened the door all the way and gazed proudly at the work of art standing before her.  
  
A flame-red convertible stood, parked in her garage, four machine guns mounted dangerously on the hood of the car. Rachael walked up to the car and ran her hand over the smooth, lustrous surface of her car. Rachael hoisted herself up so she sat on the car, before somersaulting backwards to the other side of the vehicle. She smiled mischievously as she ran her hand on a missile situated on the side of the smooth door.  
  
She patted the door cherishingly, smiling her perfect smile.  
  
"Why don't we go for a ride?" She asked to no one unparticular. She stood up and unlatched the door handle with a soft click. She slid into the leather upholstery, the keys planted in the car ignition. She smiled again as she eyed the keys. "Oh, yeah." She whispered to herself.  
  
She clutched the keys gently between two fingers and turned them slowly in the ignition as the engine roared to life, the car vibrating with it. Rachael laughed softly as she jammed the car into gear using the stick shift next to her. Rachael slammed down the overdrive and rammed her foot into the gas petal! The back wheels screeched, smoke billowing from the concrete as the wheels spun viciously.  
  
Rachael laughed joyfully as the car roared out of the garage, meaning driving straight through the wooden garage door. The peaceful night was interrupted abruptly as a garage door was shattered to bits and a smooth, red convertible came bursting from it, engine screaming.  
  
Rachael soared through the air and landed on the pavement, chips of wood clattering to the cement ground behind her. She skid across the tar, smoke swirling from the rubber tires as they desperately attempted to bring the car to a stop. She did stop, horizontally and taking up the whole road. Quickly, she jammed the car into second gear and zoomed off, engine slowly fading into the night…  
  
Jonathon lay on his bed in his run-down apartment, absentmindedly tossing darts into a dartboard slung up on his yellow-stained wall, thoughts running around inside of his mind.  
  
I Should I enter the contest? Sure, why not? What's the harm? Only getting your ass blown off, dipshit! Not if I'm fast enough. This is Twisted Metal, freak! Of course your gonna die! Nah, I'll give it a try. You idiot! /I  
  
"Shut up!" Jonathon suddenly yelled to no one, the thoughts in his head quarreling against each other. He gasped for breath, the sweat trickling down his matted blonde hair and into his face. "I already got the ride, why don't I try it?"  
  
I You friggin' moron! /I  
  
"What've I got to lose?" He yelled furiously, no one else present with him.  
  
I Only- /I  
  
"I said shut the hell up!" Jonathon screamed angrily. He wrapped his fingers around the bronze handle on his apartment door and wrenched it open, the door slamming deafeningly behind him.  
  
"Shut up, shut up, shut up." He muttered to himself as he walked out of the apartment building, clutching the sides of his head furiously. His feet carried him along the gray pavement of the sidewalk, when suddenly, a sleek red car bolted past. Spraying him with muddy water.  
  
"You bastard!" Jonathon yelled as the car roared off into the distance. At hearing this, the red-haired driver stuck out her finger, showing it to Jonathon. "Dammit!" He yelled, loudly.  
  
"That's it!" He growled to himself as he turned into a dark alley on the side of him, still dripping with the filthy water. "I'm competing. Let's go, baby." He said as he patted a motorcycle before him. It was his creation, his weapon for the perverse contest. "C'mon Outcast." He growled to the bike as he slung himself over the seat and jammed the helmet on his head. "Let's go teach these freaks how to really play Twisted Metal."  
  
He revved the engine and screeched off, the wheels spinning furiously on the black asphalt, the gat on the side prepared for a round of fire.  
  
"Sweet Tooth!" Calypso yelled, snapping his fingers.  
  
"What?" Came the muffled answer.  
  
"Come here!"  
  
"Fine, god- don't blow up."  
  
Sweet Tooth swung open the door, letting it bang against the wall. He looked at Calypso through his piercing eyes, his head flaming.  
  
"What?" He growled.  
  
"What is the status report my friend?" Calypso asked, taking a sip of his wine.  
  
Sweet Tooth grinned maliciously, a small beetle crawling through his rotted, yellow teeth. Sweet Tooth slammed his jaws down and a small squeal and crunch erupted into the air as he chewed.  
  
"There on their way." He chuckled cruelly. He spit out the remnants of the beetle into the air, several legs and a broken shell dropping into Calypso's drink.  
  
Calypso smiled and raised his glass when he realized the 'gift' Sweet Tooth had given him. "To Twisted Metal." He chuckled nastily as he drunk deeply. He set the wine glass down, absolutely nothing left in it. 


	5. The Blood of Elimination

"Welcome, drivers…to Warped Steel: The Ultimate Twisted Metal!!" Calypso's voice rang out over the loudspeakers and down into the crowd of drivers, hundreds of them. An immense cheering and uproar was emitted from the crowd below Calypso. Sunlight shone down, it was daytime and some drivers had been there since nightfall. "Here, we will have an elimination round to begin with, and at the end, only fourteen worthy drivers at the end of the round will be chosen to compete in Warped Steel! To survive this round, you must stay alive and you must not wimp out at any time within the premise of the battle. The remaining fourteen will be chosen to compete for the ultimate prize, any wish your brave hearts desire!"  
  
A colossal roar of approval was bellowed up from the crowd below, the hundreds of drivers were completely psyched up by Calypso's speech. "Of course," He continued as the crowd soon fell silent as he began to speak. "There will be a few obstacles along the way…"  
  
Down below, Sweet Tooth flipped a light switch and a dim light shone down upon a rusted, broken-down ice cream truck, tarnished and worn. Sweet Tooth smiled maliciously, his dry, caked lips pulling back over his yellow fangs. "Oh, yes my friends." He growled wickedly. "There will definitely be some obstacles along the way." He walked up to his car, his footsteps echoing in the dimly lit building garage. He brushed cobwebs away from his face as he proceeded over to his car. "Hello, baby." He whispered, running a hand over the rusted surface. "Did you miss, daddy? Ahh, dammit!" He jerked his hand backward, a shard of rusted metal embedded in his finger.  
  
Using his lengthy, filthy fingernails, Sweet Tooth plucked away the rusted steel as blood began to seep from the wound. Grinning cruelly, Sweet Tooth wiped the blood onto the white, worn paint, the red blood smearing against the steel. "That feels better, and something tells me that things will be just as they used to be, my friend."  
  
Flipping off the switch, he strided up the stairs to the lobby, where he flipped open a wooden trap door on the floor and pulled himself up to the carpeted upholstery. Standing up straight and brushing cobwebs off of him, he discovered that his friend and partner was standing before him, back turned as he look out of the window. Sweet Tooth plucked up a spider crawling over his skin and squished it between his fingers, yellow goo splattering over his fingers as he flipped the remnants of the arachnid away.  
  
"Is everything in order Mr. Kane?" Calypso asked without even turning to glance at his colleague.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Twisted Metal may begin again." At this, Calypso turned around to face Sweet Tooth, an insane grin plastered on his face and a frenzied glint in his green, fiery eyes. "Good, very good."  
  
Calypso wrapped his lengthy fingers over a doorknob and wrenched it open, only to be met with hundreds of humans, sitting, standing, pacing. Calypso spread his hands wide as every head in the room turned anxiously to him.  
  
"My friends," He stated, glancing around the room. "It is time…"  
  
(A short while later)  
  
Engines roared to life all around the arena. Gates mounted up as cages for the hundreds of vehicles competing. Suddenly, a loud eruption exploded from somewhere outside of the arena! The gates dropped to the ground, revealing a coliseum-like structure! Sand was thrown airborne as wheels spun furiously and cars zoomed from their cages!  
  
"Bring it, bastards." Ben whispered as he switched to first gear and roared from the pen, wheels spinning frantically!  
  
The unmistakable call of machine guns ripped through the bloody air as the bullets ripped through steel! Hugh Miller slammed down on his VW's breaks as a convertible zoomed past, flames licking the iron of the car! Hugh jammed down on the gas and wheeled off after the convertible, ramming his thumb into a button, a missile rapidly blasting from the grill of his VW, smoke billowing from the end! Within seconds, an explosion lit up the atmosphere as the flaming convertible erupted into fiery shrapnel raining from the sky as the missile made contact with the steel! One down… Suddenly, a voice roared over the speakers in the stadium!  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if you'll direct your attention to the center of the arena…"  
  
A foolish motorcyclist did just that as he braked and turned to look toward the center of the arena, Joe Dean roaring toward him, unnoticed in his titanic monster truck! At the last second, the motorcyclist looked up, a scream of terror emitting from under his visor as he raised his hands to 'block' the blow! It was of no use, seeing as a second later, Sasquatch, Joe's car, had tires smeared with human blood as he roared through the arena!  
  
"The obstacle of obstacles has finally arrived!!" Calypso finished dramatically as a single gate dropped to the ground, smoke and steam billowing so dense from the cage, that is was impossible to penetrate by a glance. Suddenly, an engine roared and out of the smoke rocketed Sweet Tooth, engine screaming and an insane laugh crowing from inside of the vehicle! His guns ripped through the air and several motorcyclists fell to the ground, several small holes pierced through their chests, as they lie on the ground, dead…  
  
Sweet Tooth screeched to a stop and looked through his windshield greedily, his Uzi loaded in his hand. With an insane cackle he slammed his foot on the gas and roared off!  
  
Hugh barely had time to see the clown and his car through his windshield before the glass was shattered, ripped apart by Uzi bullets as he had several embedded in his skull before he could emit the slightest scream! The dead corpse slumped on the steering wheel as the gas petal remained down as the VW roared trough at no less than 70 miles-per-hour.  
  
Joey Ruffini zoomed through the arena with the help of the NOS he had loaded in his car side! Joey flipped a switch and his gatling gun rang out, piercing the steel of a Station Wagon mercilessly! The Station Wagon toppled over on its side and the bullets ripped through the gas tank and the gasoline spilled over the sandy floor, drenching it thoroughly! Suddenly, a form appeared from nowhere, a VW with a dead man inside! Joey attempted to swerve out of the vehicles destructive path to no prevail! The VW slammed into the car's side, directly where the NOS was located! An explosion to rival many erupted through the arena as several cars were flipped over by the immense blast of flame! Several fire shards soared through the air and landed directly onto the leaking gasoline and in less than seconds, the gas was set ablaze, fire reaching up into the air!  
  
An Eclipse suddenly roared directly into the flaming substance, soon to be toppled over violently by the slippery gasoline, a burnt and charred corpse inside of the car as it exploded! Few cars were left as bullets ripped through the air and missiles soared! Sweet Tooth shot through the coliseum arena, blasting an ice cream cone from the grill of his ice cream truck with an insane cackle as the car in front of him burst into shrapnel as the two collided!  
  
Jason roared through the dirt, one hand on the steering wheel and the other on his axe! Suddenly, he stuck his torso out of the window, wind whipping his lengthy brown locks as he grasped the axe out of the window! He swung the axe and all the convertible driver had time to see was the blade slicing through their window before the blade sliced clean through their neck, a bloody head toppling to the dusty ground before being crushed under Jason's tires! Jason stuck his head back inside of his car, placing the axe into his lap.  
  
"Twisted Metal…axe…bullet…death…fun…" Jason thought to himself as he bolted past another convertible, this one red and the driver's red hair flowing out the back. Rachael slammed her foot down on the acceleration of her red convertible and shot off, soon flipping a switch on her dashboard, a laser blazing from underneath her hood! The Ferrari in front of her was sliced perfectly in half horizontally, as the car's two halves separated and the driver tumbled to the ground, Rachael directly it its path! Rachael's convertible rocked suddenly as something passed underneath her tires, something not quite dead…but now certainly gone.  
  
Keenan Griego whipped through the arena, setting a motorcyclist ablaze with a napalm fireball, the cyclist abandoning his vehicle and dropping to the floor, rolling around desperately struggling to douse the flames licking his flesh! Within seconds though, Sasquatch's colossal tires had claimed another human victim! Keenan rocketed through the dirt before suddenly…  
  
"What the fuck!?!?" He screamed angrily, striking his steering wheel in rage. His car had been stopped, completely frozen in ice! Suddenly, an Ice Cream truck whipped past, an insane cackle reaching his ears. "Sweet Tooth, you bastard! You froze me!"  
  
"Here," Ben muttered from inside his Callaway C-12. "Maybe this'll warm you up!!" Ben jammed down a button implanted on his steering wheel and immediately, a titanic fireball erupted from the grill of his car and homed in on Keenan!  
  
"Noooo!!" Keenan yelled desperately from inside his frozen vehicle as the fireball rocketed toward him! He could do nothing, entrapped within his icy car, and within seconds…the last vehicle was claimed, flames licking the steel hungrily!  
  
The remaining fourteen cars screeched to a stop and the drivers stepped out from their vehicles, Sweet Tooth leaning against his in a satisfied sort of way.  
  
"Very good!" Calypso called out from above, clapping his hands as he stood up in the driver's honor.  
  
"Mother fucking asshole." Josh heard Rachael mumble from beside him as she glared up at Calypso.  
  
"You are worthy to compete in Warped Steel!" Calypso stated from above, expecting a reaction yet receiving none. He cleared his throat. "Eehem, yes, well, I will now announce the winners of Twisted Metal!" The shuffling of papers could be heard as Calypso picked up the list and looked at it. "Winners include as follows…driving Armageddon…Shane Carter!" Shane waved to the surrounding drivers, a scowl on his face.  
  
"Driving Gingerbread…Jason!" Jason growled from deep inside of his white hockey mask, drivers surrounding him edging cautiously away. "Driving Sasquatch…Joe Dean!" Joe stood up fro his crouching position and gave a slight nod before crouching back down to the sand. "Driving Angel…Rachael Gieslinger!" Rachael snarled and cracked the knuckles sticking out of the black half-gloves she was wearing. She gave a small wave and crossed her arms. "Driving Spin Dr….Josh Ittner!" Josh smirked and placed the 'rock on' sign in the air before sticking his hands in his baggy pockets once more. "Driving Blaze…Ben Lobeck!" Ben grunted as he leaned against his car, heads turning to him quickly before snapping back to Calypso. "Driving Trigger…Seth Hill!" Seth cocked the pistol he had in his hand and twirled it around his finger before placing it in his pocket, a scowl along his face. "Driving Shocker…Steve Carle!" Steve slammed his fist into an open hand for his entrance before leaning against his Plymouth Prowler yet again.  
  
"Driving Admiral is…Taylor Bonenfant!" An old man stepped forward, a camo army tank on his head. He gave a small wave and frowned. "Driving Outcast…the only motorcycle survivor…Jonathon Flanders!" Jonathon grimaced, not even glancing up at the faces turned to him. "Driving Sorcerer…two drivers…Mary Leger and Rebecca Zehnpfennig!" Mary and Becca smiled at the frowning faces around them as the smiles faded from their lips. "Driving Minotaur…Michael Turner!" Michael stepped forth, frowning in an untrusting way at the drivers around him. "And last yet certainly not least…driving Steer is Bryant Hughes!" Bryant didn't even look up, a straw of hay in between his teeth.  
  
"Well, very good everyone. Tomorrow will be the first match, you will be informed of it in the morning, and everyone get a good night's sleep as we have given you your own quarters! Now, have a good day…welcome to Twisted Metal!" Calypso ended as his eyes seemed to come ablaze once more… 


End file.
